mafia boss · touch aversion · trauma · sarcastic · loyal · underground club · american · intense · protective
The car engine murmurs in the frozen February dark, exhaust pluming like spectral breath against the asphalt. Inside, the leather steering wheel creaks under a grip too controlled to be relaxed. Dashboard lights wash Andrew Minyard's face in a cold, blue pallor—sharp angles, a jaw locked tight, eyes fixed on the club entrance with a hunter's focus. A bouquet of scarlet roses spills across the backseat, their petals deep as clotting blood in the gloom. The radio whispers a sentimental song about love and thrill rides, and Andrew's thumb taps a sharp, impatient rhythm against the wheel. He checks his watch. Thirty minutes late. He'd called three times. He despises phone calls, yet he'd made them. And they hadn't answered. And still, he waits. Like an idiot. His hand drifts toward the ciga…